


Bedtime Protection Squad

by OnTheFritz



Series: Prompts [1]
Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot
Genre: Gen, fluffy stuff, he has taught everyone too well, munkustrap is stubborn, please munk just go to bed, silly stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 07:27:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30001362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnTheFritz/pseuds/OnTheFritz
Summary: Munkustrap is notorious for not sleeping. Unfortunately for him the Bedtime Protection Squad has his best interests in mind.Very silly prompt from Guyavot on tumblr.
Series: Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2207193
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	Bedtime Protection Squad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Guyavot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guyavot/gifts).



They were waiting for him. Like coiled vipers in the night they silently skulked in the shadows, circling him at every turn and waiting for the moment when he dropped his guard. They were a highly skilled group, well versed in the arts of deception, subterfuge, camouflage and pursuit of their prey. A lesser cat would break out into a cold sweat at the very thought of being the target of such a powerful foe.

Munkustrap knew this better than anyone. After all, he had trained most of them.

The Jellicle Protector ducked down behind the rusted hubcap he was currently using as a shield. The evening had started innocently enough. Alonzo had joined him up on the tire for the beginnings of the nightly watch, his presence warm and comforting, and it looked like it was going to be a peaceful night under the beautiful starry sky.

Then Munk had yawned. It had crept up on him. As soon as he had done it he knew it would be his downfall.

“Tired?” Alonzo had asked, face carefully composed.

“I’m fine. Just relaxed.” He had replied.

“Mmm. You know, I can keep watch for the night. Why don’t you get some sleep?”

“I’m fine.” Munk had repeated, a little more forcefully this time.

“When was the last time you slept?” There it was. The tom was looking at him suspiciously.

“It is irrelevant to our current conversation and our present situation.” This statement only made Alonzo narrow his eyes more. He should have known that using the big words would only make the tom more suspicious.

“I see.” Never had two words been so sinister.

Instead of replying Munk had simply left, hoping that if he moved fast enough he could put some distance between himself and Alonzo, who looked like he was about to do something drastic. Whatever Alonzo had in mind was not something he was interested in sticking around for.

Apparently what Alonzo had in mind involved several other cats because before Munk knew it he was being hunted by the very cats he considered his friends. It was a very unsettling feeling mixed with a bit of pride because, well, Alonzo had organized a search party and they were all working together in harmony to achieve their goal. Seeing such teamwork brought a tear to his eye.

Of course, they were all searching for him so that kind of dampened the mood but Munk still made a mental note to ask Alonzo later how he managed to assemble the cats in such a sort amount of time. If there was some sort of secret summoning phrase he wanted to know about it so he could make use of it in the future.

“How long has it been this time?” Plato’s voice interrupted his thoughts. The tom was standing in the clearing and doing a poor job of remaining concealed.

Mentally Munk made a note to train him on the arts of concealment once they stopped hunting him.

“Too long.” Alonzo replied, also standing out in the open with his white fur glowing under the moonlight. “Jenny’s got the stopwatch, we’ll have to check with her.”

Munk ducked down again as their gaze drifted around the clearing. Plato, while still inexperienced, had a lot of potential. Underneath that gentle exterior was a tom made of solid muscle capable of lifting a full grown tom over his head and throwing them a considerable distance. Once he got a hold on someone it was nearly impossible to escape. Munk had found that out the hard way when he first underestimated him in training.

“Is Munk going to be okay?” Plato asked.

“Yes, he’ll be fine once we get him situated.” Alonzo huffed. “I can’t believe that this is what we have to resort to. You’d think our leader would set a better example.”

“Where do you think he is?”

“Found him!” Munk felt his heart leap into his throat as a pair of golden arms wrapped around his chest. 

“Well done Demeter!” Alonzo cried as both himself and Plato ran over.

Munk struggled against Demeter’s hold. Now she was a tricky one. Years of evading Macavity had given her a silent tread, allowing her to sneak up on many an unsuspecting cat. Unsuspecting cats like Munk who had been distracted by an inane conversation that was now obviously a plot to keep his attention elsewhere while Demeter snuck up on him. Once more he would have been impressed if he wasn’t currently a prisoner.

With as much delicacy as he could muster Munk twisted around and broke out of Demeter’s hold, picking her up and throwing her at Alonzo and Plato before running off in the opposite direction. It hurt him to do so but he had no choice. Hopefully she would understand.

“Argh!” Plato and Alonzo grunted as Demeter knocked them both over.

“He threw me, he actually threw me-” Demeter’s cry of indignation was lost as Munk hightailed it out of there.

Eventually he found solitude at the edge of the junkyard. Wearily he eyed a ratty yet inviting armchair. Regretfully he continued past it. If he sat still for too long they would find him and… and… why was he being chased again? It was difficult to arrange his thoughts, especially since most of his focus had to be spent on keeping his uncooperative legs moving. 

“Oh, right, they’re after me.” He said aloud. “They want me to sit down. Or something.”

Eventually his pursuers would all go to sleep and he could continue his work. Whatever that was.

What was he doing again? Munk tread the familiar path around the perimeter of the junkyard as he tried to remember what he had been working on. The escape had left him tired and feeling vaguely fuzzy. Maybe he just needed to sit down for a moment.

“Maybe I need to sit down for a moment.” He said to an owl perched on a post. It blinked at him but did not reply. “Well I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

Suddenly an ear piercing, yet very on key, cry of alarm echoed through the skies. Munk looked up to see Jemima perched on top of a lookout post acting as a legitimate siren to call the others to their location.

“Jemima, I thought you were on my side.” He lamented once his hearing returned.

“I am!” She said brightly. 

“Then why-”

“There he is!”

“Get him!”

“Aim for his knees!” The last voice was Alonzo’s, clear and commanding and strong. If Munk wasn’t about to kill him he would have congratulated him for his newfound confidence.

Something akin to a freight train hit him at the knees, sending him crashing into the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Again, an impressive effort and certainly one worth praising if Munk hadn’t been on the receiving end of it.

“Sorry Munk, but it’s for your own good.” Plato apologetically held on to his legs with an incredibly strong grip. Yes, unfortunately his Jellicle Protector training had paid off.

Munk looked up at his captors. 

“Why?” He asked.

“You know why.” Alonzo crossed his arms and started down at him. Next to him Jemima stifled a giggle.

“You’ve been awake for, oh, let’s see, how long has it been?” Demeter turned to Jennyanydots, who had joined the crusade.

“Fifty three hours, seventeen minutes and thirty two seconds.” Jenny had the audacity to hold up a stopwatch. 

“That’s not too bad.” Munk mused. He had gone longer without sleep. Of course, he couldn’t remember when or exactly why but it surely had to have been important. Maybe. It was hard to remember much at the moment now that he was horizontal. When was the last time he had laid down?

“Fifty three hours, eighteen minutes and twelve seconds ago.” Jenny informed him.

Must have spoken that last question out loud.

“You did.” Alonzo replied.

Munk frowned. Was he just randomly voicing every thought now?

“Yes.” Plato said helpfully from around his knees.

“Okay, this is a little much.” Munk said. “Why can’t I do my job in peace?”

“Because you don’t ever take a break.” Alonzo replied.

“You’re running yourself ragged.” Demeter answered.

“It’s very bad for your health.” Jenny admonished.

“You get kind of funny when you’re really tired, but not in a good way.” Plato observed. 

“You spent ten minutes staring at that owl.” Jemima added.

“Ten minutes?” Munk blinked.

“Yeah.”

“Right. We’re wasting time.” Alonzo firmly grabbed Munk’s shoulders. “Bedtime Protection Squad, on to phase two.”

“Excuse me, Bedtime what- hey!” Munk was suddenly hauled into the air by Plato and Alonzo, who had no trouble at all carrying him back into the junkyard. 

Demeter, Jemima and Jenny formed a three point perimeter around the toms in case Munk managed to get away. Not that he could struggle much at this point. Vaguely he felt like an offering being carried to a sacrificial altar. 

“That’s a little dramatic, dear.” Jenny said.

“I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

“You did.” Plato said. “You’ve been saying a lot of stuff out loud.”

“What does ‘sacrificial’ mean?” Jemima asked.

“Well, here we are!” Alonzo declared a little too loudly. “Home sweet home. On to phase three everyone.”

Phase three involved bodily throwing Munk down on his bed and having everyone pile on top of him. Again the team effort was admirable, especially since everyone had a designated limb to hold on to. Jemima ended up curled on his torso, which was nice, except that now he was officially pinned and couldn’t move a muscle.

“Good job.” Alonzo said from his position on Munk’s left leg. “Now for phase four.”

“What in the-” Demeter gently shushed him.

Jemima cleared her throat and, with her most clear and soothing voice she could achieve, began to sing a lullaby. Everyone around her relaxed at her sweet song.

Munk tried to resist, he really did, but the combination of being horizontal and surrounded by those that loved him was too much. With a soft sigh his eyes drifted shut, the lullaby carrying him away into an unwilling, yet incredibly comfortable sleep. Maybe next time he wouldn’t fight so much.


End file.
